Chiropractic Care at the Winter Olympics

March 15, 2013

Three SCU alumni among five DCs on U.S. medical team.

Winter Olympics is fast approaching, and chiropractic care is going to be included in the health care system that will be provided to the athletes. Below is the article with all the information about the event and how chiropractic care will be utilized to improve the athletes’ over-all performance.

The 2014 U.S. Olympic Medical Team, 47 members strong, features five doctors of chiropractic including three alumni of Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), including Michael Reed, DC, who is serving as medical director. Eric St. Pierre, DC, and Tesuya Hasegawa, DC, are also serving on the team, which is supporting U.S. athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games now underway. “I would like to express my congratulations to Dr. Reed, Dr. St. Pierre, and Dr. Hasegawa,” said SCU Interim President Dr. John Scaringe. “It is certainly an honor and privilege for these exceptional practitioners to serve the members of the U.S. Olympic Team.”
Dr. Reed, medical director of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Sports Performance Division in Colorado Springs, Colo., is coordinating care for the entire U.S. delegation in conjunction with the chief medical officer, James Moeller, MD. A 1981 graduate of SCU’s Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Dr. Reed has served as a faculty member in the postgraduate division of the college since 1984 and developed the sports medicine residency program at SCU, serving as its first director.

Dr. St. Pierre’s responsibilities on the U.S. medical team include caring for members of the short-track speedskating team and athletes in the Olympic Village. Dr. St. Pierre is currently head trainer for the short-track team.
Dr. Hasegawa is attending to members of the bobsled and skeleton teams, as well as providing care to U.S. athletes at the Olympic Village. Beginning in 2007, Dr. Hasegawa joined the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Sports Medicine Team, serving as a chiropractor and certified athletic trainer for team members.

Drs. Reed, St. Pierre and Hasegawa are three of five doctors of chiropractic selected to serve as members of the 2014 U.S. Medical Team for the Winter Olympics. Joining the three SCU grads are Dr. Josh Sandell, a chiropractor and certified athletic trainer from Maple Grove, Minn.; and Dr. Blase Soto, a chiropractor from East Brunswick, N.J.
The U.S. Olympic Medical Team serving consists of medical doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists and athletic trainers. While these five DCs are not the first to be selected to a U.S. medical team, it is always an honor to recognize the profession when it is included in the most prestigious international athletic competition in the world.